Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "There is not modernism in Türkiye, but modernist fascism"

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan participated in the interview titled "The Civilization Crisis of Modernism" hosted by the Sultanbeyli Imam Hatipliler Association (SİHADER). Drawing attention to the Manifesto for Universal Human Values and Rights, Tarhan stated that they started a values movement, and underlined that they made the manifesto not only on rights, but also on values and rights. Stating that modernism is confused with fascism, Tarhan said that "There is not modernism in Türkiye, but modernist fascism."

The interview, which was held in the conference hall of the Sultanbeyli İmam Hatipliler Association (SİHADER), attracted great attention.

They oppress 1.5 million people in Gaza. Where is the civilization in this?

In his speech, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that civilization is compliance with social rules and ensuring justice and emphasized that the West applies double standards against the outside. Tarhan stated that "It is not the stone carving that civilizes man, but the construction of fences. This is a sign of learning to respect someone else's rights. In civilized societies, there is the supremacy of law and rules. In decision-making processes, it is consulted in the parliament, it is not acted on the decision of one person. Civilization in this sense was formed in the West in the 1200s in the British Parliament. Before that, the strong would have said. At the moment, Western civilization is fair at home and double standards on the outside. Western civilization is now behaving differently internally and differently externally. They oppress 1.5 million people in Gaza. Where is the civilization in this? There is no civilization like this. The period of happiness is the most beautiful example of civilization. Unfortunately, the Islamic world is losing the test in this regard. Western civilization may be good at science and art, but it has double standards in the rule of law."

There is not modernism in Türkiye, but modernist fascism...

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that modernism is confused with fascism. Tarhan stated that "Instead of taking art and science from Europe, we got its morality. There is not modernism in Türkiye, but modernist fascism. This system, which was implemented after the Ottoman Empire, has nothing to do with civilization. There can be no talk of civilization in a country where music was banned until 1950. Imam Hatipliler stood against this modernist fascism by preserving the values of Islam. At that time, a few intellectuals who saw both the Ottoman Empire, the Constitutional Monarchy and the Republic transferred ideas, rights, culture and values. At the moment, its fruits are beginning to be given. Thus, its seedlings took root, took hold and settled. However, a correction is needed here. Seriously at this time wild weeds occupied. It actually pushes away the facts, distorts them. In the West, decision-makers are now acting with a very capitalist morality. There is a situation that is extremely greedy, cruel, irresponsible, and acting without limits. They also use artificial intelligence for this purpose. In other words, artificial intelligence has a threat aspect and an opportunity aspect. It is an opportunity for us."

“It was social media that announced the events in Gaza to the world."

Stating that artificial intelligence and the Internet offer great opportunities when used correctly, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "Technology is neutral. It serves for good or evil, depending on how it is used. At the moment, it is social media that solves the events in Gaza. If it were classical media, it would never have been able to show these facts in this way. Therefore, we must use the power of the Internet and social media correctly. It was social media that announced the events in Gaza to the world. It activated the global conscience. This is an example of how to properly use the power of the Internet and social media. There are those who say, 'If I go online, I cannot protect myself.' It is like saying if I go to war, I cannot protect myself. If you go to war, of course you will face threats, but if you want to be ahead, you have to take these risks."

Excessive love for the world takes precedence over religious values

Underlining that the fear of death decreases as the love of the world increases, Tarhan expressed that "The biggest weakness among Muslims is the rise of worldliness and secularism. Excessive love for the world takes precedence over religious values. This is what the Prophet (peace be upon him) called ‘Vehn's disease’. As the love of the world increases, the fear of death decreases. For this reason, as the Islamic world, we must re-examine ourselves."

Solving problems together reflects Islam's understanding of participation

Pointing out that the basic elements of democracy are also important principles of Islam, Tarhan stated that "Accountability, libertarianism, pluralism and participation, which are the basic elements of democracy, are among the important principles of Islam. The fact that a family makes decisions together and solves the problems that arise as a result of these decisions together reflects Islam's understanding of participation. This understanding, which was also important in the time of Ömar, stays equally important today."

We made the manifesto on values and rights...

Underlining that it is very important to start a values movement, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that this movement should be supported by universities and other institutions. Tarhan stated that "We prepared the manifesto when I went to Kazakhstan. I had a book on values and psychology, which was translated into Russian. They invited and gave prizes for the promotion of the book. When I was giving a speech there, it suddenly occurred to me, 'We need to start a values movement.' They said, ‘Let's write a manifesto about values.' The team there actually looked after the university, and I wrote the manifesto and sent it. We also added Ahmet Yesevi and Farabi. Farabi is actually a philosopher of values. They call him Muallim-i Sani, that is, the greatest teacher after Aristotle. He has a lot of great ideas, even if they have criticized aspects. With the teachings of Ahmet Yesevi, we were able to hold a place in Anatolia at the moment. We combined these two names. He promised that if there were 25,000 signatures, he would take it to the United Nations Security Council. However, the mainstream media has never taken ownership of it. The state did not officially claim it. Nearly 400,000 signatures were collected. If this signature reaches 1 million, it goes to the United Nations and is voted on in the Security Council, no one can say no to it. In a way, this should also find support in universities. One or two universities from Ukraine have expressed their willingness to participate in the petition, and we will add their logo. What was our greatest weapon against the idea? They said Islam was human rights. We said human values and rights. There is not only merit, but also value. That's why we made the manifesto not just about rights, but about values and rights. Because Islam has been the most effective in human history. If we think about the value movement sociologically, these values were experienced most intensely during the Age of Happiness (Asr-ı Saadet) period. Many human values such as women's rights and inheritance rights were implemented during the Asr-ı Saadet period."

Don not let artificial intelligence rule you...

Stating that artificial intelligence is shaped according to the intended use of people, Tarhan said that "Artificial intelligence is affecting broken families, or families affected by social media. It also affects families where spouses are in conflict. If there is a peaceful environment of trust at home, the children of those families are not affected by social media. Children because they learn a meaning. They find peace at home. When they get social media wrong, they learn from their parents. Children use social media for their purposes. If we use artificial intelligence and social media for our purposes, it will serve us like a wild horse. What is nuclear energy, for example? If we use it in accordance with our purpose, our goal, it will illuminate the city. If we use it badly, it will be a bomb. That is what artificial intelligence is like. Therefore, let us use artificial intelligence in a good way. Rest assured, artificial intelligence serves the good, the right good. Learn artificial intelligence, but be the subject of artificial intelligence, not its object. Do not let AI rule you. Artificial intelligence does not do anything to anyone who is a part of a great meaning, but artificial intelligence drags people who live meaninglessly and without purpose."

"Artificial intelligence cannot be fought, we will use it for our goal"

Stating that a rote and oppressive culture and education system will produce a negative result, Tarhan said that "Right now, we are living in the modern cover of the same oppressive culture. It is a frightening. It is a rote culture. At the moment, there is a completely traditional style of education in schools. The education style of this time is based on learning by experience, based on learning by questioning, and based on critical thinking. Right now, they say to be quiet to someone who criticizes, and they say that the elders do not respond. If so, how will we discover our talents? For example, there is fuzzy intelligence. Artificial intelligence has created fuzzy intelligence. Azerbaijani origin Lütfi Hacı Askerzade, who found this through probability calculations and found the reference point of artificial intelligence, went to America. This guy comes up with fuzzy logic. Artificial intelligence in fuzzy logic. Right now, it is machine AI that is learning. In fact, beyond learning, the autonomous robot interprets and generates ideas because it uses fuzzy logic, and this is a new calculation method. It is clustering. Probabilities, it reacts as if it were making a meta forecast and making a weather forecast. It is like 100% Newtonian mechanics. Other logics are also considered there, and as such, when there is an artificial intelligence that thinks about all possibilities, a power emerges that you will gravitate towards. That is why you cannot fight with artificial intelligence. We will use artificial intelligence for our goal."

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)